January 28, 2005: Headlines: COS - The Gambia: World Wise Schools: Tribune Georgian: The fourth-graders in Carrie Tabor's class at Mary Lee Clark Elementary got a special delivery from the other side of the world on Jan. 10. They received the first letters from their new pen pals in the rural village of Tumana in the west African country of Gambia - and they were pretty excited about it.

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January 28, 2005: Headlines: COS - The Gambia: World Wise Schools: Tribune Georgian: The fourth-graders in Carrie Tabor's class at Mary Lee Clark Elementary got a special delivery from the other side of the world on Jan. 10. They received the first letters from their new pen pals in the rural village of Tumana in the west African country of Gambia - and they were pretty excited about it.

The fourth-graders in Carrie Tabor's class at Mary Lee Clark Elementary got a special delivery from the other side of the world on Jan. 10. They received the first letters from their new pen pals in the rural village of Tumana in the west African country of Gambia - and they were pretty excited about it.

Caption: FOURTH-GRADER KATIE Fendley shows off the crayon drawing she received from her pen pal in West Africa.

The fourth-graders in Carrie Tabor's class at Mary Lee Clark Elementary got a special delivery from the other side of the world on Jan. 10. They received the first letters from their new pen pals in the rural village of Tumana in the west African country of Gambia - and they were pretty excited about it.

Last Fall, the kids began a pen pal relationship with the African children. The writing project got its start thorough Tabor's cousin, Daniel Bouchard, who is working as a Peace Corps volunteer in the village. Bouchard was helping create a playground and library at the village school where he teaches. And as one thing often leads to another, Tabor's students decided they wanted to help by contributing books to the library project, so they held a book drive to sent them a lot of books.

In November, Tabor's students wrote letters to the students in Tumana, telling them about themselves and what life is like in southeast Georgia. Tabor said that it was a great exercise in writing as the children were especially motivated to make their letters extra polished.

Then the African students at Sanunding Lower Basic School sent the St. Marys kids personal reply letters and also included colorful drawings of what their country in like. The project is continuing throughout the year. Both schools are exchanging photos of their schools and school activities, too. Tabor has posted the pictures they received from Gambia in her classroom.

"This is such a neat project and the kids really love it," Tabor commented. "It is motivating for them. It is teaching them a lot about written communication and about the world."

When this story was posted in January 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:

Ask NotAs our country prepares for the inauguration of a President, we remember one of the greatest speeches of the 20th century and how his words inspired us. "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man."

Latest: RPCVs and Peace Corps provide aid Peace Corps made an appeal last week to all Thailand RPCV's to consider serving again through the Crisis Corps and more than 30 RPCVs have responded so far. RPCVs: Read what an RPCV-led NGO is doing about the crisis an how one RPCV is headed for Sri Lanka to help a nation he grew to love. Question: Is Crisis Corps going to send RPCVs to India, Indonesia and nine other countries that need help?

The World's Broken Promise to our ChildrenFormer Director Carol Bellamy, now head of Unicef, says that the appalling conditions endured today by half the world's children speak to a broken promise. Too many governments are doing worse than neglecting children -- they are making deliberate, informed choices that hurt children. Read her op-ed and Unicef's report on the State of the World's Children 2005.

Our debt to Bill MoyersFormer Peace Corps Deputy Director Bill Moyers leaves PBS next week to begin writing his memoir of Lyndon Baines Johnson. Read what Moyers says about journalism under fire, the value of a free press, and the yearning for democracy. "We have got to nurture the spirit of independent journalism in this country," he warns, "or we'll not save capitalism from its own excesses, and we'll not save democracy from its own inertia."

Is Gaddi Leaving? Rumors are swirling that Peace Corps Director Vasquez may be leaving the administration. We think Director Vasquez has been doing a good job and if he decides to stay to the end of the administration, he could possibly have the same sort of impact as a Loret Ruppe Miller. If Vasquez has decided to leave, then Bob Taft, Peter McPherson, Chris Shays, or Jody Olsen would be good candidates to run the agency. Latest: For the record, Peace Corps has no comment on the rumors.

The Birth of the Peace CorpsUMBC's Shriver Center and the Maryland Returned Volunteers hosted Scott Stossel, biographer of Sargent Shriver, who spoke on the Birth of the Peace Corps. This is the second annual Peace Corps History series - last year's speaker was Peace Corps Director Jack Vaughn.

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Story Source: Tribune Georgian

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - The Gambia; World Wise Schools

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